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Portuguese Synagogue

Portuguese Synagogue

Portuguese Synagogue
4.5
Historic SitesArchitectural BuildingsReligious Sites
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Plan your visit
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Centrum
Amsterdam’s buzzing hub, with its sprawling network of tram rails and a seemingly constant flow of tourists and commuters, yields convenient access to some of the best sightseeing, shopping, and street life in Europe. Closest at hand are the Royal Palace, the quaint shops of Haalremmerdijk, the pedestrianized zones Kalverstraat and Dam Square with popular neighborhoods such as the Red Light District, and the Canal Ring hardly more than a moment’s stroll away. With the well-connected Centraal Station as Centrum’s base, it's easy to travel farther afield via one of the city’s iconic trams.
How to get there
  • Waterlooplein • 3 min walk
  • Nieuwmarkt • 7 min walk
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,502 reviews
Excellent
921
Very good
430
Average
119
Poor
23
Terrible
10

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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Sightseer20501832204
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
I would like to start by saying that this synagogue and the museum are both excellent and I highly recommend a visit if you would like to know more about the lives of Jews in Amsterdam. However, when we arrived to the synagogue to buy tickets I was pulling a small bag (KLM hand luggage size) having just got off a plane two hours before. I was told by the person behind the counter that the bag would not be allowed and that I need to do a ten minute walk to a storage place and pay 5 euros to store it. We were discussing the dilemma of whether we were going to do this or not bother going in the museum when another member of staff walk around to the entrance gate, looked at the bag and said that this bag should be okay in a locker across the street in the museum. This immediately made me suspicious that the man behind the counter was on a scam for the tourists. I took the bag over to the museum where it fitted into the locker with ease (and not even the biggest locker!!) and these were free. I wished to raise this issue with a manager and asked in both the museum and the synagogue if I could speak to a manager and was told there wasn't any. So I am writing this review to make people aware that there is bag storage in the museum and you don't need to walk ten minutes and pay 5 euro for this. I wouldn't want anyone to get caught on this scam.
Written 15 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lucia P
Valsamoggia, Italy1,524 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
Beautiful and large synagogue a few steps from the Jewish museum. Currently undergoing internal renovation, you can enter but not all of the space is accessible.
In the same courtyard you can also visit the treasure room, the library, the winter synagogue.
Free entry with I Amsterdam Card.
Google
Written 12 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Noraatc
Sudbury, MA39,982 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Solo
After my lunch at the wonderful Jewish Museum cafe, I crossed the street to the Portuguese Synagogue, which is a Sephardi one. Absolutely magnificent inside and luckily untouched during the WWII because the city officials had negotiated a deal with the Nazis claiming that historical treasures should not be destroyed. How they managed to convince the occupiers… I have no clue. Visiting this gorgeous synagogue was a spiritual experience even for a non-believer like me.
Written 3 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MagsATL
Atlanta, GA154 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Nice historical place and museum. The history is fascinating. The story of the people of the Synagogue is a sad one. We did not visit the Holocaust Museum on the same sight - ran out of time. The Museum is quite in depth and takes a while to go through. I definitely recommend if you have interest in the Jewish history in Amsterdam. The Synagogue is somewhat plain, but also gorgeous.
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TimWasHere
Tilburg, The Netherlands54 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
Certainly interesting enough to look around and educational. The audio tour went on a bit too long at each point in my opinion. There is a "Press A for further information" choice on the audio handset at the end of each bit, so some of the information could have been there rather than in the basic explanation.

It is a very large synagogue with a significant history so worth the visit, but the connected buildings (office for example) really not all that interesting.
Written 30 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

beth b
13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
Very thought provoking experience. The audio tour was beyond excellent and the whole compound is worth exploring. I went there on Friday afternoon which put me in a pensive mood for Shabbat. History matters.
Written 31 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mkunnen63
Heemskerk, The Netherlands3,413 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023
Here after we entered the Jewish Historical Museum and watched and listened to everything through the audio box. Very impressive, that started with the question whether I wanted to wear a yarmulke. This was appreciated when the visitors did so. The hall is beautiful in all its antiquity with the stories. Without gas and electricity. Also walked around it and visited the doors you were allowed to enter. More than worth it. It's wonderful that all of this has been preserved and is still being used.
Google
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KingsMountaineer
Woodside, CA104 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
The Portuguese synagogue, in my mind, is a must see in Amsterdam. It provides a tangible sense of a once-rich culture/community in Amsterdam that was largely destroyed or displaced. Make sure to take the audio guide--it is quite well done.
Written 19 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Solo
PROS
* Ancient historical structure still intact- inside and out
* Original building, original floors, original seats, original Cabinet of the Scroll of the Law, original reader's elevated platform
* Sit and relax on vintage benches from 1675
* Still illuminated only by hundreds of candles
* Once the largest synagogue in the world
* Experience and learn about Jewish life and religious rituals from then, in 1675, and also today, in 2023
* There is an audio guide available
* Possibility to explore freely

CONS
* The price, although it also covers other stuff, such as the Joods Museum
* Not much informational plaques etc, although there is a brochure
* It was under ongoing restoration work

"I VISITED THIS PLACE"...
... because it is an important historical landmark in Amsterdam, and an essential part of visiting the Jewish sites and locations. I wandered around and looked in every corner that I could. I tried doors to go up to the balcony or to the basement (where other posters reported a Holocaust museum)- the doors were locked. I sat on several of the 1675 benches and rested and enjoyed the view and looked up at the many many many candelabras and imagined Amsterdam Jewish life in 1675.

WAS IT WORTH THE COST?
I have to say yes for me, because there was no way that I wasn't going to visit.

WOULD I VISIT THIS PLACE AGAIN?
Not for that cost- unless there would be access to other floors and other stuff and maybe to the Cabinet of the Scroll of the Law (which was closed off with scaffolding due to construction work).

ADVICES
* Go to see an essential historical and Jewish place
* Take a brochure
* Consider a guide person
Written 9 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ericgoldman
Mountain View, CA223 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023
I had previously visited the Jewish Museum, which I also recommend, but this time I had a personal tour guide through the Portuguese Synagogue. It was at one point the largest synagogue in the world, and it influenced several other Portuguese Jewish communities throughout the globe. The synagogue itself wasn’t particularly ostentatiously, but it remains an impressive sight nonetheless, and the treasure room further demonstrates the community’s wealth and power. 2 hours was a perfect amount of time to appreciate the synagogue, the historic Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam, and the tiny community of Jews still using the facilities.
Written 10 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam

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